Severely deaf children and adults will have their cochlear implant sound processors automatically upgraded every five years as part of a £3.2 million investment.

The programme will be rolled out from 2015/16 to ensure that those with cochlear implants benefit from any changes to sound processor technology every five years.

A cochlear implant is a surgically implanted electronic device that, in combination with a sound processor, provides a sense of sound and an understanding of speech, to a person who is profoundly deaf or severely hard of hearing.

Currently sound processors are replaced if they no longer work and cannot be repaired, or if the patient is judged to not receive sufficient clinical benefit from the device.

Health Secretary Shona Robison said the £3.2 million Scottish Government investment would improve patients' quality of life.

In the UK, around one in every 1,000 children is severely or profoundly deaf at the age of three years old, the Scottish Government said.

By the age of 9-16 this rises to two in every 1,000, with genetic causes the reason in nearly half of childhood deafness cases.

The use of cochlear implants is also increasing among older people who develop age-related deafness as part of the ageing process.

Heather Gray, director of the National Deaf Children's Society Scotland said: "This investment signals real commitment from the Scottish Government to ensuring the best possible outcomes for deaf children."

Catherine and Andrew Lothian, whose two year-old daughter Alice has a cochlear implant, welcomed the announcement.

They said: "We are delighted with this decision.

"It will make a big difference to Alice, two-and-a-half years old, as she will now be offered an upgrade every five years, which is the guaranteed lifespan of a cochlear implant processor."

Scotland's national Cochlear Implant Programme is based at Crosshouse Hospital in Kilmarnock.